Housing for all

The Government is to embark on a massive islandwide housing project with the ultimate aim of providing shelter to all those without homes of their own. Already housing schemes under various titles have got off the ground. Nearly 60,000 families are to be installed in new homes in 2011 alone.

The plan is to construct at least one housing scheme in every Divisional Secretariat Division. There are also plans to construct eco-friendly housing projects or haritha puras. This is a sound move given the current concerns about environmental damage due to mass construction activity. Such homes will also act as models for the home garden concept that is been assiduously promoted by the Government.

Ideally all homes to be constructed under these various housing projects should have provision for a home garden particularly those being constructed in the urban areas. Government housing schemes at present are cramped, congested and devoid of privacy for the inhabitants. All future projects should take this into consideration and make provision for hassle-free existence. Particularly considering the children who need a conducive environment for their studies and recreation. The Government should plan its housing based on current trends taking examples from State sponsored housing schemes in other countries.

The proposal to build 20,000 housing units for Government servants too is a welcome move since the housing problem of State sector employees had been a stickling point over the years for which no permanent solution has been found. However the Government must ensure that only the deserving receive State subsidized housing and with no political influence coming into play. It is no secret that in the past even those already with homes of their own through political influence had acquired Government housing only to subsequently sell them to a third party at a huge profit.

This was clearly seen with regard to the housing schemes built by President Premadasa in the city when he was Housing Minister. The result was the truly deserving were left out defeating the whole rationale of providing low cost housing to the deprived. Housing allocations should be done free of politics and only the deserving should be afforded this facility.

It is appropriate that the Government had given priority to housing, given the population increase and particularly due to massive urban migration. Needless to state housing is an acute problem in the Colombo city where congestion is at its zenith with hardly any available land space for large scale housing projects. Here the Government should move cautiously in selecting sites for housing projects.

Much as he was praised for his pioneering efforts to provide homes for the homeless, President Premadasa too was not selective on the sites he picked for his massive housing schemes in the urban sprawl. Housing schemes and tenement homes came up like mushrooms in marshy land, the consequences of which we are seeing to this day in the form of massive flooding in the city although the ancient sewerage system too is partly responsible for this.

Therefore haphazard construction should be avoided at all costs, lest this exacerbate the problem. Not only in the cities but even in the entire Western coast we see this phenomenon where coconut land have been parcelled out and sold to property developers resulting in floods even in hitherto safe areas. Therefore a proper balance should be struck to ensure no environmental damage would be caused due to the overenthusiastic drive to build a million houses.

With areas such as Hambantota now given an urban touch and with increasing commercial activity in the South with the establishment of the international port and airport there will be a huge temptation for these property developers to make a killing by building housing schemes on virgin territory. Such projects should not be allowed at all cost lest the consequences that have visited on other areas where similar housing projects were built descend on this relatively safe terrain as well. President Rajapaksa should ensure that his bastion is kept free of the machinations of unscrupulous elements trying to cash in on the enhanced economic activity in the South.

With the ever increasing population and migration to cities - housing will continue to remain a huge problem for the Government in the future as well. Therefore it would be prudent if a comprehensive plan is now being mapped out with the help of experts to come up with a permanent solution to this pressing problem.

With Colombo to be given a new facelift and redesigned by the authorities it would be just as well to include the question of urban housing too into the overall planning. For instance the problem of slums has to receive the focus of the authorities in its new plan for the city.

With nearly 60,000 families occupying slums in the Colombo city alone it would indeed be a big challenge to provide them with alternate housing, while at the same time making the city among the leading capitals in the world. Hopefully the Government will come up with a practical solution to this problem ensuring a decent shelter for all city inhabitants.